Jar with Scroll Design

1400s

Jar with Scroll Design, 1400s. Korea, Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). Buncheong ware with incised, stamped, and slip-inlaid decoration; height: 37.6 cm (14 13/16 in.); outer diameter: 27 cm (10 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1963.505 In premodern Korea, a new-born baby’s umbilical cord and placenta was believed to be a symbol of the life force of the fetus and thus kept in a specially arranged burial site. This jar was made exclusively for burying a placenta, a custom practiced by aristocratic families in Korea in the belief that it would bring happiness to the child. The tiny ear-like handles located around the jar's shoulder allowing string to pass through were used to keep the lid (now missing) tightly closed.